Noble makes ministry out of necklaces, bracelets

Bobby Wilson / Staff
Lillie Noble holds a necklace that she made. She also made the other jewelry on the table. Noble makes necklaces and gives them away from free to people.
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When she was a child, her mother would make cakes and pies for people who were sick. Her father, who owned an insulation and siding company, would take dinner to people he thought were down on their luck.

Noble has followed her family's path, but she makes and gives away something different: jewelry.

Bobby Wilson / Staff

Lillie Noble holds a necklace that she made. She also made the other jewelry on the table. Noble makes necklaces and gives them away from free to people.

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The retired pedicurist said she is motivated by her Christian faith.

She made 75 pieces for My Father's House, a residential, educational center to help women in poverty become self-sufficient.

Shirley Madden, founder of My Father's House, said the women selected pieces that appealed to them.

"Our women need encouragement," Madden said. "It is hard to change. Women love jewelry, and it is a special thing for them to have something beautiful to enjoy. They laughed and had a good time trying on different jewelry."

Noble said she made about 100 pieces for LakeRidge Rehab and Nursing Center, and she is in the process of making jewelry for others.

Noble crafts anklets, bracelets and necklaces. She receives free materials from a family member by marriage, Shara G. Konechney, owner of The 10 20 Boutique.

Konechney said she gives Noble inventory that arrives broken and can't be sold. In turn, Noble transforms the beads, stones and silver and gold chain into jewelry.

"Her designs are gorgeous," Konechney said. "And it makes these people feel so wonderful when they see her coming."

Konechney said she treasures pieces that Noble has made for her.

If you give Noble something, Konecheny said, she will give it to someone else: "She is the most giving person who I have ever met."

Free jewelry isn't only thing that Noble gives away.

She also bakes for people who are not feeling well. Her husband sometimes says Noble overcooks on purpose to give food away.

When Noble worked at Lindsey's Salon for 14 years, she would give away one or two pedicures or manicures a week.

Family pictures rest and hang in her cozy Lubbock home.

The 68-year-old said she comes from a happy family of six girls and two boys, all of whom have helped people in need.

She has four children, 10 grandchildren and six great grand children.

Noble said she gives in the name of the Lord. Luke 6:38 in the Bible, she added, describes giving best, which, in part, reads:

"For with the same measure that you give it shall be given back to you."